We are in the planning stages of our first Euro vaction in Mid-November, which is partly work related...

We are flying into Heathrow, then to Amsterdam (the work part), then back to Heathrow, from there we'd like to find a bus to take us to Avebury, Chalice Well, Stonehenge, also get to Wales, and any other "new age" mecca site...LOL Anyway I'm sure you get my drift. We will only have about (1) week to spend in the UK. I need to know which bus connections are the best to do this. We are not renting a car, and don't want to spend and arm & a leg either... Any ideas?

Glastonbury is your mecca for new age

I'd forego the tedious long packed bus rides and look at the England Railpass which would take you to the Welsh border where you can then buy dirt-cheap Wales rover passes good on buses and trains.

And in Nov the England railpass is 25% off normal prices.

For example an 8-consecutive day England railpass - good on all regular rail lines in England - Heathrow and Gatwick Expresses included would cost $265 in 2nd class minus 25% or about $200 p.p. - less than $30 a day or about 15 pounds a day.

15 pounds in UK does not get your very far these days.

Or a 15-consecutive day pass for $399 p.p. - 25% or about $300 - $20/day or 10 pounds a day.

That's if you are traveling a lot - such as doing base cities then day trips or day trips also out of London and some long trips like to Wales, etc.

There are also flexipasses good for 2 months and as few as 4 flexible travel days of your choosing within the 2-month period - England Flexipass - 4 d $235 in 2nd cl or about $170 p.p.

8 day flexi $340 -25% or about $255 p.p.

this is all for fully flexible travel - any train and time - no advance purchase, etc. just hop on and off.

check www.nationalrail.co.uk for normal fares - fully flexible fares are very expensive but if you are only doing a few trips and wish to do the advance purchase non-changeable non-refundable tickets you can get some really cheap fares - good if you are not traveling much - but for flexibility and the 25% Off-Season deal look at least at the England railpasses - trains are infinitely more comfy than buses IMO.
England railpasses not sold at stations in UK as Brits can use them. In US www.britrail.com has all the prices as does www.budgeteuropetravel.com, who i always recommend for any British rail product due to their great customer service, expertise and lack of shipping fees. But if want to go by bus then investigate the cheap bus passes and individual bus fares are also very cheap usually. Trains won't get you to Avebury but close from where a short bus ride would. Trains go virtually everywhere in Britain a tourist would go.

I think you are going to have to rethink your idea. First, I presume you are looking to visit the kind of places that this guided tour goes to, http://nccn.net/~wwithin/walesengcorn.htm These are generally remote places, practically none have train stations, so the proposal to buy a rail pass would be of little value. They are spread well apart. The logistics by bus would horrendous; you can look up transport options at the Traveline portal, http://www.traveline.org.uk/index.htm And you want to travel in November, with short days and darkness falling in the late afternoon.

You are either going to have to scale back the scope, eg the Avebury, Stonehenge and Glastonbury sites and something else, or break down and rent the car or hire a guide and driver.

For some reason Fodor's won't let the URL for the tour website to fully hyperlink, so you will have to type in the part after the slash to get to site.

OK - thanks for the info... Please keep the ideas coming...

Yeah I was actually looking at the tour group site today....

If it were merely a vacation we'd pick a different time of year... We're kinda at the mercy of my husband's job, and thought since it's a free trip to the UK we'd try to fit as much in as possible, who knows when we'll have this chance again!

http://www.intotheblue.co.uk/site/pa...treat-495.aspx